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{{cleanup}}'''Dr. Apostolos Makrakis''' (1831-1905), or '' '''Makrakes,''' '' was a controversial and charismatic Greek [[laity|lay]] [[theology|theologian]], preacher, ethicist, philosopher and prolific writer. He was born in 1831 in the village of Katavati on [[Sifnos]] island, Greece, and died on [[December 25]], 1905 in Athens, buried in his family chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary's [[Annunciation]]. His bust is in the square bearing his name at the entrance of the village.
And so Makrakis, wanting to contribute to the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church|Catholic]] rebirth of the nation, regarded as the most basic element in this the rebirth of the [[One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church|Church]], as the [[w:Noah's Ark|ark]] and instrument of the new national life<ref>Metallinos, G.D. ''Ekpaideutike Hellenike Enkyklopaideia: Pankosmio Biographiko Lexiko.'' Athena, 1983-1988. Tom. 1-9B.</ref>.
===Preaching===
Apostolos Makrakis was the most influential figure on the development of the Greek Church in the 19th and 20th centuries. As a preacher he was a new phenomenon in newly reborn Greece. Preaching during that period mostly was an activity of the marginal competitors of the Church, so that preaching, especially outside the temples by non-authorized figures, was violently repressed. This was in line with the tradition of the Church of Late Antiquity, in that once Christian Churches were solidly established, clerics' activities were regulated and disciplined in order to avoid ecstatic innovations, which is what Makrakis was in fact criticized for.<ref>Anastassiadis, Anastassios. [http://www.ceri-sciencespo.com/publica/question/qdr11.pdf Religion and Politics in Greece: The Greek Church's 'Conservative Modernization' in the 1990's]. Research in Question, No.11, January 2004.</ref>
In May 1866, he came to Athens, where for six months...in Concord Square he delivered twenty speeches on the subject of ''The Work of the Fathers of 1821 and How it Can Best and Quickest Be Brought to a Conclusion'', which were published in the newspaper ''Justice'' and republished in book form in 1886. Given occassion by a threatening letter of the Free Masons, who had been incensed by his speeches, he wrote two books against Freemasonry: ''Freemasonry'' and ''Masonry Exposed by the Masonic Certificate'', the first was published in 1867 and the second in 1868. At the instigation of the Masons who had political influence at the time, he was twice arrested and jailed, the first time for twenty-four hours, and the second for sixteen days for allegedly insulting the King.<ref>Andronis, Constantine (Ed.). ''Apostolos Makrakis: An Evaluation of Half a Century.'' Chicago: Orthodox Christian Educational Society, 1966 pp.14</ref>.
Makrakis also preached to large crowds in [[Metropolis of Patra|Patra]], who came out in awe to listen to his "nation-saving" teachings on [[June 18]], [[June 24|24]], [[June 27|27]], and [[July 16]], 1876, having as his most fervent followers Theodoros Kapetanon, Ioannis Arnellon, and Nikolaos Christogiannopoulos<ref>Triantaphyllu, Kostas N. ''Historikon Lexikon Ton Patron. 2. ekd.'' Patrai, 1980.</ref>. After this a number of publications such as ''Achaia'', ''Phoenix'', and ''Aratos'' strongly attacked his teachings, while others such as the ''Peloponnesus'' supported him. Defenders of Makrakis included a theologian of Patras named Ieronymos, as well as the spiritual father of Patras, Fr. Athanasios Georgiou, who recommended he be exiled for two years lest he be judged by the Synod. For a period of thirty years Makrakis visited Patras, in 1876 remaining there for forty-days teaching the people.
Continuing his quest of preaching to the nation, he arrived on the island of [[Metropolis of Zakynthos and Strofades|Zakynthos]] in July 1892, and again in August 1893, teaching out of exile. A critic of Makrakis from Zakynthos was the primary school teacher Ioannis Siderokastritis, who wrote ''O Anamorphotis Makrakes (The Uneducated Makrakis)''<ref>Zoes, Leonidas Ch. ''Lexikon Historikon Kai Laographikon Zakynthu.'' Athenai, 1963. Tom. 1.</ref>.
In the summer of 1894 he made his tenth and last Gospel tour, visiting Thebes, St. Theodore, Levadeia, Atalante, Chalkis, Kyme, Aliverion, Kariston, Gaurion on the islands of Andros, Syros, and his birthplace Siphnos.<ref>Andronis, Constantine (Ed.). ''Apostolos Makrakis: An Evaluation of Half a Century.'' Chicago: Orthodox Christian Educational Society, 1966 pp.20.</ref>
===Christology-Philosophy and Controversy===
He criticized contemporary prelates of [[w:Simony|Simony]], and also upheld the theory of the ''Trisyntheto'' (triple constitution of humanity, i.e, ''Psyche'' (soul), ''Pneuma'' (spirit), ''Soma'' (body). He was arguably one of the most important religious personalities of the 19th century, and one whose innovations turned the Holy Synod against him. He was , resulting in his being condemned and jailed several times<ref>Tolika, Olympia N. ''Epitomo Enkyklopaidiko Lexiko Tes Byzantines Musikes.'' Athena, 1993.</ref>. He was also an extremely prolific writer whose works were widely translated outside of Greece.
He founded the '' '''School of the Logos ''' '' in Athens in September 1876 and titled himself ''Professor of philosophy and the philosophical sciences in the Greek nation'' , teaching philosophical subjects (i.e. "Philosophy", as "Love of the [[w:Christ the Logos|Logos]]", so that in this sense philosophy becomes applicable to and interchangeable with the theological discipline of [[Christology]]). In a peer-reviewed book review of five Makrakis' philosophical system<ref>::* ''The [[w:Christ the Logos|Logos]] and the Holy Spirit in the Unity of MakrakisChristian Thought: According to the Teachings of the Orthodox Church'' volumes. 5 Vols. Chicago : Orthodox Christian Educational Society, c.1977.:: Vol 1. ''The Orthodox Approach to Philosophy''.:: Vol 2. ''Psychology: An Orthodox Christian Perspective''. ISBN 9780938366058:: Vol 3. ''Logic: an Orthodox Christian approach''.:: Vol 4. ''Theology: An Orthodox Standpoint''. ISBN 9780938366034:: Vol 5. ''Philosophy: An Orthodox Christian Understanding''.</ref> R.P. Scharlemann states that:
:"Makrakis intended to be a teacher of the people of Greece,...this child of the [[w:Greek War of Independence|revolution of 1821]]. The [[w:Søren Kierkegaard|Kierkegaard]]<ref>'''Kierkegaard, Soren,''' ''b. Copenhagen, Denmark, 1813; d. 1855''. Philosopher and religious writer. He was a precursor of the existentialists and a major influence on Protestant theology. He argued that advancing through the three stages of the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious by means of an "existential dialectic" brings the individual closer to God. A leap of faith is required; reason is not a help. But awareness of the relationship to God leads to despair as the individual contrasts temporality with eternal truth. His major works include ''Either/Or'' (1843) and ''Fear and Trembling'' (1843). (''The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge''. 1st Ed.. St. Martin's Press, NY, Oct. 2004. pp.1020.)</ref> who speaks here has a Hellenistic soul. Philosophy, "the love and science of the [[w:Christ the Logos|God-equal WORD]], or [[w:Christ the Logos|Logos]]", has as its purpose "the acquisition of God's omniscience...and the deification of the philosophical investigator". Its object is the same as that of religion and government. The system traces the journey of the soul in its ascent from the "primary cognition [noein]" through the philosophical sciences to its deification. The means of ascent are provided by the "right reason" that is the object of logic and is incarnate in [[Jesus Christ]].....right reason being the nexus between temporal fact and eternal being. In this system, the primary cognition, or what [[w:Phenomenology|phenomenology]] might call the basic intellectual intuition, is that I exist, the world exists, and God exists... The soul is conscious of its own existence, perceives the world, and knows God's existence, but it does not know the nature of each of them. The aim of science is to make the unknown known. Philosophy as [[w:Christology|Christology]] and Christology as Philosophy, it is at least a theme that makes one think."<ref>Scharlemann, R.P.. Peer Reviewed Book Review of Makrakis': ''The Logos and Holy Spirit in the Unity of Christian Thought, 5 Vols: Vol 1:The Orthodox Approach to Philosophy, Vol 2:Psychology An Orthodox Christian Perspective, Vol 3: Logic An Orthodox Christian Approach, Vol 4: Theology An Orthodox Standpoint, Vol 5:Philosophy An Orthodox Christian Understanding.'' Translated from the Greek by Denver Cummings: Orthodox Christian Education Society, 1977. '''Journal of Religion''' 59 no 4 O 1979, p 488-490.</ref>
===Preaching=Excommunication====There has been some confusion as to whether or not Apostolos Makrakis was in fact put out by the most influential figure on the development of the Greek Church in the 19th and 20th centuriesor not. As a preacher he was a new phenomenon The sources show in newly reborn Greece. Preaching during actuality that period mostly he was an activity of the marginal competitors of condemned by the ChurchSynod, so that preaching, especially outside but '''not''' formally excommunicated by them. As the temples by non-authorized figures, was violently repressedVery Rev. This was Archimandrite Isaias Simonopetritis explains in line with the tradition of the [http://www.aegeantimes.gr/pigizois/agglika/inegl_27.htm ''The Orthodox Church of Late Antiquityand Proselytism''], in that once Christian Churches were solidly established, clerics' activities were regulated '"while Makrakis was condemned by the official Church and disciplined in order to avoid ecstatic innovationsthe monasteries of [[Mount Athos]], which is what Makrakis he was in fact criticized not excommunicated, forfear that his numerous followers among the middle classes of Athens would turn him into a [[martyr]] figure"''.<ref>AnastassiadisSimonopetritis, AnastassiosVery Rev. Archiman. Isaias. "[http://www.ceri-sciencespoaegeantimes.comgr/publicapigizois/questionagglika/qdr11inegl_27.pdf Religion htm The Orthodox Church and Proselytism]." ''Orthodox Herald'', Official Publication of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Politics Great Britain, September–October 2001, No. 120-121.</ref> Although Dr. [[Christos Yannaras]] gives a slightly different account, writing that ''"The Synod '''excommunicated''' [Makrakis] to silence him, invoking ludicrous theological arguments, such as his views on the tripartite composition of man"'' and that ''"when he died, however, the Synod agreed to give him a church funeral"''<ref>Yannaras, Christos. ''Orthodoxy and the West: Hellenic Self-Identity in Greecethe Modern Age''. Transl. Peter Chamberas and Norman Russell. Holy Cross Orthodox Press, Brookline, Mass., 2006. p.224.</ref>, nevertheless Makrakis' biography by Constantine Andronis explains that the excommunications were published by one particular Bishop, and not by the entire Synod: The Greek :"...so long as Makrakis combated only Freemasonry and neither said nor wrote anything against the high priests, he was recommended by the latter as the Saviour of Orthodoxy, but when he proved certain high priests to be guilty of the crime of Simony and demanded their dismissal in accordance with the sacred regulations of the Church, war began to be waged upon him as a heretic teaching that man consists of body, soul, and spirit. 's 'Conservative Modernization' Makarios, Bishop of Karystia, published excommunications and anathemas in the 1990opposition to this belief'''s]. Research in Question<ref>Andronis, NoConstantine (Ed.). ''Apostolos Makrakis: An Evaluation of Half a Century.11'' Chicago: Orthodox Christian Educational Society, January 20041966 pp.16.</ref>
* British Orientalist and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford [[w:Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare|Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare]], a contemporary of Makrakis writing in 1903, proposed that if we cut through the many mists of spiteful exaggeration often attributed to Makrakis' life story,
::we can discern that his teaching exactly agrees with that ascribed to the [[w:Ebionites|Ebionites]] and to [[w:Theodotus of Byzantium|Theodotus of Rome]] by [[Hippolytusof Rome]] in his ''[[w:Refutation of all Heresies|Philosophumena]] (Refutation of all Heresies)'', Book VII, chap. 34. A not very dissimilar form of [[Adoptionism|Adoptionist doctrine]] still survives among the dissenters of Russia and of Armenia, and I suspect that Makrakis had come into contact with them.<ref>*[[w:Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare|Conybeare, Frederick Cornwallis]]. Reviewed Works: ''The Student's History of the Greek Church'' by Rev. A.H. Hore (M.A.). London and Oxford: James Parker, 1902. 514 pp.; ''Geschichte der Orientalischen Kirchen von 1453-1898'' by Prof. A. Diomedes Kyriakos. Leipzig, 1902. '''American Journal of Theology, Vol.7, No,3 (July 1903). p.562.'''</ref>. * Dr. Constantine Cavarnos although referring to Makrakis as "perhaps the most outstanding philosopher and religious teacher of modern Greece," in reviewing Makrakis' important treatise on [[Soteriology]], the ''"Divine and Sacred Catechism"'', states that Makrakis' teaching is marred by the exaggerated importance he attributes to the Devil, by his narrow conception of Orthodoxy, and his invective against other religious denominations.<ref>Cavarnos, Constantine (Dr). Reviewed Work: ''Divine and Sacred Catechism by Apostolos Makrakis''. Transl. from the Greek by the Hellenic Christian Society, Chicago, Illinois. New York: Cosmos Greek-American Printing Co., 1946. ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', 1949; XVII-265-266.</ref> * Blessed Elder [[Philotheos (Zervakos)]] has written ''The Errors of Apostolos Makrakis.'' Although not yet in English translation, it is summarized in part in Dr. Constantine Cavarnos's book ''"Blessed Elder Philotheos Zervakos"''. In his criticism the Elder emphasises that he does not mean to say that there is nothing of value in Makrakis' writings, especially the earlier ones, but that they must be approached with caution.
* Dr. Constantine Cavarnos although referring to Makrakis as "perhaps the most outstanding philosopher and religious teacher of modern GreeceIn 1882 Chrysanthos Makris," in reviewing Makrakis' important treatise on [[Soteriology]]later an Archimandrite, wrote a book against the ''Divine and Sacred Catechism'', states that tenet of Makrakis' teaching is marred by the exaggerated importance he attributes relative to the Devil, by his narrow conception tricomposite nature of Orthodoxyman, and his invective against other religious denominations. :On the other hand he identifies that there are a number of things in his vigorously written book that should interest the student of religion, including the lucid and systematic exposition entitled ''"The Bicomposite Nature of Man Proved by Reference to the doctrines Great Fathers of the Eastern Church "''. This was refuted by Makrakis in a conservative representative series of it; articles in the firm belief ''Logos'', which were reprinted in perfect divine justice; a separate book 302 pages long under the very high conception title ''"The Tricomposite Nature of man — man, according Man Verified also by Reference to Makrakis is the most perfect work Great Fathers of God, higher even than the angels; and the profound conviction in, and the attempt throughout the book to show, the perfect harmony between experience, reason, and religion.Church"''<ref>CavarnosAndronis, Constantine (DrEd.). Reviewed Work: ''Divine and Sacred Catechism by Apostolos Makrakis: An Evaluation of Half a Century.''. Transl. from the Greek by the Hellenic Chicago: Orthodox Christian Educational Society, Chicago, Illinois. New York: Cosmos Greek-American Printing Co1966 pp., 1946. ''Journal of the American Academy of Religion'', 1949; XVII-26518-26619.</ref>
===Legacy===
